The Nintendo Switch arrived worldwide on March 3rd, 2017. With the first quarter over, time for a new thread. This thread is intended to cover topics relating to Nintendo Switch console and Nintendo Switch games until April 2018. This is not a general Nintendo thread, so it would not cover, for instance, 3DS or mobile apps unless they integrated with the Nintendo Switch. However, corporate news such as Reggie Fils-Aime being promoted to God Emperor, or Shigeru Miyamoto leaving to make a new Wonderswan, would be on topic here.

Nintendo Switch is a Hybrid console device. It is made to run games on your TV and also have a portable form factor. It comes with detachable controllers called Joycon. It also has a kickstand. This results in

Three Modes of Play

In TV Mode, the Switch console rests in the Switch Dock and the game is displayed on the TV.
In Tabletop Mode, The Switch rests on a flat surface with its stand, allowing for more flexible play options.
In Hand-held Mode, the Switch has both Joycon attached to it, allowing for gaming on the go.

The Joycon(plural of Joycon is Joycon)

The Joycon combine most of the controllers Nintendo has ever made into two small controllers. They each have an analog stick, two shoulder buttons, two side shoulder buttons for when you hold it sideways, and four face buttons. The analog sticks are clickable. Each joycon also has linear actuators, a form of rumble closer to the technology of a speaker that can produce more fine and impressive rumble, which Nintendo markets as "HD Rumble". The right Joycon has an NFC reader. Finally each controller has gyroscope and accelerometers. You can detach and attach them to the Switch at will, attach them to the included Joycon Grip, or use the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.

Details

-Nintendo Switch costs $300, while the Pro Controller is $70 and separate Joy-Cons will run you $90 for a pair or $50 for a single one
-Comes with a USB Type-C charger, HDMI cable, left and right Joycon, Joycon grip, two Joycon straps, and Switch dock. Battery off dock runs from 3 hours(low end, graphics intensive game) to 7 or 8 hours(2d game like Shovel Knight) depending on wifi and brightness settings. Joycon batteries last about 20 hours, and charge by being attached to the Switch, or another (not included) charger. The Pro controller lasts about 50 hours and can plug into any USB port.
-Up to 8 Switches can connect to each other for multi-player, either wirelessly or by LAN(LAN adapter required)
-A paid on-line subscription service is currently scheduled to launch in 2018. It will be required for on-line play. A separate phone app will handle friend lobbies and schedules, as well as voice chat(voice chat will be through this separate app rather than the console). The service will also include access to some library of NES games(and possibly more in the future) with added on-line play. This access lasts as long as you are a subscriber. Subscription will cost $20 a year. Nintendo also says it comes with other "benefits" but these have not yet been disclosed. A trial version of this app launches July 21, 2017 and will be for Splatoon 2 only until next year.
-NO REGION LOCKING
-Has a capacitive touch screen, meaning it registers more than one touch
-Uses micro SD cards; Switch has only 32GB on-board memory, so if you plan on downloading many titles, you'll need one.
-Nintendo Switch uses cartridges
-Switch is more powerful than the WiiU, but won't really measure up strength-wise to other consoles.

Games

I’ll break this up by Nintendo made or published games, and third party and indie games.

Nintendo Games:

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Enormous adventure game unlike any other in the series, focused on exploration, player freedom, survival elements, and having a distinct set of tools. Highly rated by most outlets and highly recommended.

1-2-Switch

A mini-game collection focusing on unique uses of the Joycon. Maybe fun for a party, but not really recommended at its price. A fun novelty for an evening.

Snipperclips - Cut It Out, Together!

Adorable cooperative puzzle game, focused on cutting shapes out of a partner and rotating in order to solve a variety of problems.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 with a fresh coat of paint, this new version runs at a higher resolution and framerate, has new characters and vehicles, and an all new battle mode featuring actual well designed battle maps and many new modes.

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers

The ultimate version of Street Fighter II. Listed here because published by Nintendo. This seems overpriced to a lot of people, I'll just link the Digital Foundry review. Whatever you think, it's Street Fighter II. If you want Street Fighter II, this is it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak6Stj97koY

ARMS

ARMS is a unique fighting game with 11 playable characters so far, all with stretchy, springy arms. Each fighter has a couple of special skills, and the game focuses on guessing what your opponent might do next and countering successfully, and choosing a correct set of weapons for your boxing gloves that counter their strategy. At it’s core Blocking beats Punches, Punches beat Grabs, and Grabs beat Blocks. Fun and decently rated.

Splatoon 2 -July 21st

This sequel to Splatoon is getting a new horde mode, new weapons and specials, new maps, new divas in the form of the octarian Marina and Pearl, a new campaign mode, and new Splatfests(planned through 2019). Releases July 21st, alongside a companion mobile app for on-line play and voice chat. Voice chat and setting up rooms can only be done through this app and is not available though the console, so you’ll need your phone next to you if you aren’t just playing with pubbies.

Ubisoft developed this crazy looking Mario Xcom, where he and Rabbid clones of his friends must battle other rabbids in turn based strategy to save, presumably, the musroom kingdom. Impressions are fairly positive.

The WiiU and Arcade Tekken/Pokemon fusion fighter returns for Switch. This time it will ave more characters and presumably better graphics and on-line. Releases September 22.

Super Mario Odyssey

Launching October 27, 2017, Mario Odyssey is a giant Mario adventure in the vein of Mario 64. It features a sentient hat named Cappy that allows Mario to take control over objects and enemies. Mario must journey through worlds collection coins and power moons. Every world has its own currency and special outfits that grant Mario special abilities or access to restricted areas.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kcdRBHM7kM

The sequel to XBC will release in 2017 according to Nintendo. It features heroes that wield sentient anime girl swords, but also other non anime girl swords.

FAQ

Should I get a Nintendo Switch?

Do you like Nintendo games? Does having a console with you on the go appeal to you? If yes to either of these, yes. Nintendo already has a strong library of their own games and lots of good indie games are out or announced. Third party support seems more enthusiastic than the WiiU, though obviously this machine will not be getting day and date ports of every AAA game, or even most AAA games. However it has been selling well which seems to be attracting some developers.

How do I get a Switch?

Your best bet is to check with your retailer for what days they generally get shipments, and check them out in the morning. There is a service that really helps: brickseek https://brickseek.com/ Also if you are an Amazon Prime member, they tend to regularly have stock refreshes only available to members.

When's the Virtual Console service coming out?

No virtual console has even been announced yet. A library of classic NES games will be available to Nintendo online subscribers in 2018. Nintendo also announced and SNES Classic for this fall. The truth is a full virtual console service may be a long time coming. OR maybe be announced 5 minutes from now. I don’t know, Nintendo is crazy! But hey, listen. When they announce a virtual console plan, I WILL UPDATE THIS THREAD. I will put it in bold at the top and change the thread title. So don’t bother asking when there will be one. When it is announced I will make it very visible. Please don’t spam the thread with that poo poo.

Can I use wireless audio with Switch?

Not right out of the box. For some reason it is not compatible with bluetooth headphones or speakers at the moment. There are workaround solutions however. See: this video. https://youtu.be/miXUwKK-71c This guy has a fairly comprehensive tutorial of various solutions. I’ll be using his videos a lot

Joycon strap problems

Putting on and taking off the joycon straps can be a real pain the first few times before you get a feel for it. Here’s an official tutorial video, and another video by Vince about how to fix if you did it the wrong way round.

When you put your system to sleep all paired controllers will automatically go to sleep, however if you want to manually unpair them or turn them off it is very simple. Just a simple tap of the sync button will do it. If you want to change order without going into the menu, you can simply tap the sync buttons on your controllers to turn them off, then tap the sync button again to turn them on in the order you want the controllers to be.

Should I tell the thread if I am sexually attracted to a Nintendo character?

No, you shouldn’t do that. That kind of content would belong more in PYF. No shame here, but this is not the place to hear about it. People tend to not even take kindly to joking about it, because this is a thread for discussing Nintendo switch, not for making fun of deviantart or whatever. That’s all well and good, but before you post weird fanart for kicks, maybe ask yourself real hard if it is actually funny.

How do I turn off or restart the system?

By holding the home button for a couple seconds you get the quick menu which had brightness and volume controls, sleep function, and airplane mode. To actually turn off the system or restart you need to use a different menu by physically holding the power button on top of the switch. A quick press puts the system in sleep. Holding it for a few seconds brings you to power options which has the option to restart or power off.

The internet stopped working for games and downloads, but sharing still works?

This occasionally happens to some people and usually can be quickly fixed by a restart. The bug may have been patched out in the previous update.

Special Thread Rules

1) If someone is posting negatively about the Nintendo Switch… get over it. It’s a great system to me, and maybe to you, but it is flawed.

2) Put CONTENT in your posts. Posting “NINTENDO IS CUTE. MARIO IS GOOD.” is not content and more annoying than the trolls you are trying to counteract. Asking a question you either A) know the answer to, or B) know there is no answer to is really annoying. I promise any breaking news about virtual console, major indie titles, etc, will be added to the op.

Screen protector: The thread’s favorite is amFilm or orzly. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9RG3XS or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3ASPNV Apply in your bathroom with your shower on to prevent dust being trapped underneath. If you are worried about scratches, get a protector. The Switch screen is plastic, which can scratch easier than glass but also is far less prone to shattering. Getting a glass screen protector is the best of both worlds.

Fast RMX - This eShop exclusive is an updated version of Fast Racing Neo for WiiU. It is similar to F-Zero or Wipeout gravity racing game, with high difficulty but tight controls and fantastic graphics, all 1080p and a solid 60fps with all sorts of neat effects and good music. Features more tracks and cars than before, as well as online multiplayer.

I Am Setsuna - Square Enix RPG in the vein of their older SNES titles. Combat similar to Chrono Trigger but story and gameplay more or less in a straight line in a similar vein to FF4 or Mystic Quest. A sad tale with few art assets and minimalist music, but good if you like a simple RPG that won't take up a lot of your time to play through(roughly 20 hours)

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove - This is one of the best Indie games of the generation, an action platformer that takes inspiration from Mega Man, Ducktales, Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, you name it, with approachable difficulty and generous checkpoints. A retro look that doesn't look lazy, but looks like how you remember classic games rather than how they actually looked. Treasure Trove contains three campaigns with different main characters, with a fourth campaign and a vs. mode coming for free at some point in the future.

Super Bomberman R - The first Bomberman game from Konami in quite a while. Completely servicable, and after updates runs very smoothly with good controls. 8 player multiplayer local or online

Blaster Master Zero - A very good remake of Blaster Master with all of the charm but better controls and gameplay balance, with some anime thrown in. DLC keeps being released free for a limited time, and you can currently get Shantae as a playable character, with Shovel Knight coming next month.

Voez - Rhythm game only playable in handheld mode, with touch controls similar to Theatrythm, focusing on notes shifting between lanes. This was originally a free to play mobile game with microtransactions, but this version just has all the songs and many bonus songs.

Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ An incredibly addictive and challenging roguelike with thousands of hours of combat. I haven't played it, but anyone in this thread who has will swear by it.

Has-Been Heroes An unpopular roguelike at launch that people are starting to come around on thanks to it being discounted to $10 and having a rebalance patch. Kind of a combination of roguelike and tower defense focusing on lanes.

Snake Pass - Snek Game. Kind of like Octodad combined with an old collectathon platformer, featuring music by David Wise. It's a good game, and once you get used to the controls fun to snake around.

Lego City: Undercover - Originally a WiiU exclusive, now multiplatform. This version features higher resolution, co-op multiplayer, and better load times. It's like a Lego Grand Theft Auto

Jackbox Party Pack 3 - Multiplayer party game where anyone can join in with a smartphone, with games of hidden identity, wordplay, and trivia

Mr. Shifty - Top down beat em up game where you have short range teleportation powers, in the style of a hokey 90s comic book. Fun core gameplay, but repetitive and marred by slowdown issues.

Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap - Remake of an excellent Sega Master System exploration adventure game. Beautiful animated graphics, and great music. Game mechanics are extremely dated, but completely acceptable.

Puyo Puyo Tetris - Sega Puzzle game combining Tetris and Puyo Puyo in great ways. Has options for the colorblind, and a ton of modes.

Kamiko - Cheap $5 adventure game with four levels, similar to Zelda or Hyper Light drifter. A short game you can beat in 1-2 hours, but with three playable characters and very fun to speedrun. Good quality game for the price.

Tumbleseed - Insanely hard roguelike where you must slowly roll a seed up a hill, avoiding holes and enemies. So hard most people can't stand it. A new balance patch is coming, but personally even though I can't make it past the second biome I find it very rewarding.

NBA Playgrounds - Big Head cartoonish basketball similar to NBA Jam, but with some questionable mechanics, panned because they couldn't get online mode patched in for a while. They did finally get it patched in though.

Minecraft: Switch Edition - Minecraft is on the Switch, and will feature crossplay with PC and X-box versions(X-box live account required). Has bigger maps than the Vita/WiiU/360 version but not as big as the ps4/Xbone versions

Disgaea 5: Complete - An addictive JRPG where you make the numbers go up forever. A sequel to one of Ulillillia's most played games ever.

Thumper - Sort of a horror rhythm game. Very addictive but also short. Play it best in handheld mode right up against your face.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - A sexist game for misogynists. Wait no, actually it's a cute, fun, action adventure game. With a touch too much backtracking, but it is what it is. Great music and graphics, oodles of charm, and good level design. Before I was thinking of a different Shantae game, this one keeps the cheesecake to a reasonable level.

Cars 3: Driven to Win - A racing game which I suspect someone, somewhere, has bought. Based on a movie that rigged the final race to artificially make a girl car win. So much for the tolerant left turns.

Mighty Gunvolt Burst - Imagine a world in which Mighty No 9 was actually good. This is that world. A retelling of that lovely game, but actually good, with fully customizable weapons and also you can play as Gunvolt from the Gunvolt series.

Cave Story+ - The godfather of modern indie games. Some would say this is overpriced at $30 for what can still be downloaded in some form on the internet for free, but it really is a great Metroidvania game with a poignant story and charming characters. This version is going to feature co-op at a later date, and has a ton of options for soundtrack. Also an option for switching to classic graphics is being added. There are new challenge maps as well. The definitive version of the game.

Oceanhorn - A mobile ripoff of the Zelda series that plays decently well enough with actual physical controls.

GoNNer - A challenging platformer with an interesting art style and roguelike elements.

NEO-GEO games

Hamster has released a TON of Neo-Geo games on Switch. I'm not going to summarize them all, but here's a list. I can tell you the Golf one is very good.

I never really considered myself a Nintendo fanboy, but today I got a text from my husband letting me know the Switch was back in stock on Amazon. I snap bought our second Switch, finished pre-ordering Mario Odyssey and Mario Rabbids, managed to pre-order our second Splatoon 2 copy, and went back to add a pro controller (will buy a second one when the splatoon version is in stock). What a good day. We spent the weekend futzing about with Snipperclips and unlocked Party Mode !! I wasn't sure about the $20 price point until that moment. Nintendo just makes me feel so often.